Sinking of the MS Diamond
The sinking of the MS ''Diamond ''took place overnight on 13-14 January 2012, after the MS Diamond struck a reef and sunk off the southern coast of Alum Chine. At the time there were 4,400 people on board. 60 were killed, 600 others were injured (10 seriously). 9 bodies were never found, and they are presumed to be lost on the seabed. The MS Diamond ''had it's maiden voyage (a series of test runs) with Leeds Ferries Global on 1 January 2012. It's maiden passenger voyage departed Leeds Sea Port late on 13 January 2012; the ship struck the reef just 15 minutes later, leading to comparisons with the RMS ''Titanic ''disaster (which also sunk on it's maiden voyage). By tonnage, it is the largest passenger ship to sink in history. Industry analysts believed the vessel is a constructive total loss. Even if it wasn't it seemed it would be scrapped anyway, as Leeds Ferries Global had ordered a replacement (MS Supercruiser). It's final nail in the coffin was when Leeds Ferries Global took it off their fleet list and sold it to a scrap company on 5 March 2012, condemning it. The sinking was part of the events of Friday the 13th. Shipwreck MS ''Diamond ''had departed Leeds Sea Port at 2215 on 13 January and was sailing a different departure course than usual - along the coast, instead of straight out to sea. This was due to heavy traffic in the area, and also to get publicity for the maiden voyage. It had departed for a several-week cruise to Kos in Greece, calling at Gibraltar, Palma de Mallorca, Naples, Rhodes, and several other ports. According to Leeds Ferries Global, 3,400 passengers and 1,000 crew members were on board at the time. At 2230, in complete darkness, the cruise ship struck a submerged reef around 200 metres off the coast of Alum Chine, 15 minutes into the maiden voyage. Passengers reported hearing a bang and feeling severe shaking, before silence as the ship's equipment failed and the power went out. However, they just thought that an electrical generator had failed and there was no panic. However, initially, the captain thought that there may have been an explosion in the ship's engine room, so he did not immediately give the order to abandon ship but instead sent some trained crewmembers to check the engine room. At the same time he activated the ship's emergency roof lights, to warn other ships of the stranded vessel. The captain did not immediately call a mayday. At 2310, after forty minutes in darkness, most passengers started going to bed, not knowing what had actually happened. Around twenty minutes later the crewmembers returned, noting no explosion damage in the engine room, although upon their return they saw a large gash in the side of the ship. At 2330, upon hearing this news, the captain presumed he must have hit Alum Rock, a submarine reef 200 metres off of Alum Chine beach, which he originally thought to have avoided by around 100 metres. Alum Rock is 8 metres under the water, not enough for the ship to pass over. At 2335, the boat first started taking on water. The captain, now drifiting uncontrolled with no power closer to the shore of Alum Chine, declared a mayday and gave the order to evacuate. By the time most people had reached lifeboats 10 minutes later, the boat was beginning to list and so the lifeboats had to be launched very quickly. In the chaos, around 200 people, including the captain (who was going to stay anyway), remained on the boat. By midnight on 14 January, the ship was listing 40 degrees and 30% of the ship was flooded. Around 60 passengers in one area of the boat were trapped when water and debris entered the room; these are either still missing or dead. Helicopters arrived at 0020, to rescue the passengers still on board. Over the next few minutes helicopters rescued 120 passengers, and once the captain had confirmed that there was no one left behind, he was the last person (except the trapped group of 60) to leave the boat, at 0050. Over the next few days Over the next few days, the boat kept listing more and more severely and was declared a shipping hazard, with a 500 metre radius around the ship closed off to all but emergency vessels. The ship was also drifting along the shore back towards Leeds Sea Port, and it was also coming closer to land. At 1400 on 14 January, the ship became grounded on underwater rocks 20 metres from the land, very near Leeds Sea Port. Following the incident, these rocks, which were officially unnamed, were renamed Diamond Rocks as a memorial. After grounding on Diamond Rocks it was listing by 80 degrees, so she was effectively on her side. It was by this point that a collision with an underwater rock was confirmed - a large gash with a rock in it was seen on the base of the ship, which was pointing out to sea. Rescue After it was reported that 60 people were missing, a full-scale rescue operation was launched on 15 January, with rescuers using explosives to blow holes in the side of the ship and enter. An oil measuring device was placed in the water near the ship, to check if any fuel was leaking from the ship, which it wasn't. Over the next few days more and more dead bodies were found, including 14 in a single room on 17 January. As of 5 March, 9 people are yet to be found, and it is presumed they are lost on the seabed forever. The search has now concluded. Aftermath Reactions Leeds Ferries Global Leeds Ferries Global released a statement on 14 January stating that they were "very sorry" for the accident, and that "our thoughts are with those affected by this accident". They said they would co-operate freely with the investigation, and would definately pay out compensation to all passengers on board. On 21 January they announced that the captain had been "thoroughly rewarded" for his actions on the boat, especially during the evacuation, which was regarded as the "exact opposite" of what the captain of the Italian cruise ship ''Costa Concordia ''did when that sunk off Giglio on the same day as the MS ''Diamond. Industry experts According to industry experts, the ship is believed to be a constructive total loss. Once the search for survivors and bodies is complete, the ship will be either refloated or cut up and scrapped on site. On 5 March the search for survivors was concluded and Leeds Ferries Global did indeed confirm many people's expectations, selling the ship to a scrap company. Media The accident recieved extensive worldwide media coverage over the days and weeks after the accident, including a famous headline in the Leeds Gazette ''reading simply "Oops". Tourism boost One unexpected side-effect of the disaster was that thousands of tourists came to see the wreck, which was highly visible from the beach. This came during unseasonably warm temperatures, further boosting tourism. Removal of MS ''Diamond ''from site How the MS ''Diamond ''will be removed is currently being debated. On 5 March a proposal was accepted to have several massive barges with cranes on them right the ship, and then tow it to Leeds Shipyard for unloading and scrapping by a scrap metal company who bought the stricken ship. However, if it will not refloat, it will be either scrapped on site or dragged into deeper water and left as an artificial reef for fish. On 20 May, work took place to remove all the fuel that remained in the ship. Once that was completed, the all-clear was given for the salvage of the ship, but no work is planned to take place yet. Investigation and cause The investigation, in short, has concluded that the boat, taking a different route to usual, struck Alum Rocks, lost all power, began sinking and listing, and drifted towards the shore, coming to a rest on Diamond Rocks listing severely. Comparison with other incidents RMS ''Titanic There have been some extremely eerie coincidences that it shares with the RMS Titanic disaster of April 14-15, 1912. *Both ships sunk on the 14th of a month. MS Diamond sunk overnight on 13th/14th, whereas RMS Titanic sunk overnight on 14th/15th. *MS Diamond sunk during the year of the 100th anniversary of the RMS Titanic's disaster. *Both ships were said to be unsinkable prior to launch. *Both ships sunk after hitting objects that had not been noticed until it was too late. *Both ships were the largest ships ever to sink in their time. *Another ship was near to the one that sunk on both occasions (with the MS Diamond, it was the RMS Queen Mary 2 ''that happened to be passing). In both occasions, that ship ignored the distress signals and continued onwards. *The theme tune to the 1997 film ''Titanic, about the sinking of the RMS Titanic, was playing in the main restaurant of the MS Diamond ''when it started listing. Celine Dion's ''My Heart Will Go On ''continued playing, repeatedly over and over, even after the power went out, as for some reason the music system was run by emergency power due to an electrical fault. The music was still blaring out when the helicopters arrived at midnight. MS Kuga There are also some connections with the fire on board the MS ''Kuga ''on 3 April 2012. *Both ships were Kinetic class cruise ships. *Again, the theme tune to the 1997 film ''Titanic ''was playing when the ship lost power, and again, it continued playing, repeatedly, on emergency power. As a result, Leeds Ferries Global banned this song on their ships. The reason given on the website? "It's cursed!" *The accidents were less than three months apart. Dramatization On 10 March 2012, ''Seconds from Disaster ''stated that they would make a programme about the incident, titled "Diamonds AREN'T Forever", to be aired in August 2012. On 3 April 2012, film director James Cameron announced he was to make a film of the accident, titled ''Diamond, that would be released into cinemas on 14 January 2014, the second anniversary of the disaster. Cameron also made the 1997 film Titanic. He said that the film would similar to ''Titanic ''in that it would be an epic thriller-disaster movie with a deeper romance story inside, following some fictional characters who are among the 60 people who are killed. Cameron said that it would mainly follow two people in love, and their friends, as they tried to escape the sinking ship before meeting their end in a room full of water. It has already being critically acclaimed, most people cannot wait for the film to be released. Gallery Diamond fuel.jpg|A massive barge pumps fuel out of the ship on 20 May. Diamond spray.jpg|The ship and ocean spray on 3 April 2012. MS Diamond wreck.jpg|An artistic view of the ship on 2 April 2012. Diamond hole.jpg|A rock, dragged out of the Alum Rocks, is seen embedded in her side on 18 January. Diamond rescue.jpg|Rescue boats surround her on 15 January. Diamond sinking.jpg|The listing cruise liner. Diamond Rocks can be partially seen to the left. Sunken Diamond.jpg|The ship aground on 14 January. Used lifeboats from the liner can be seen in the foreground. MS Diamond.JPG|The ill-fated MS Diamond on 1 January